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Wordly Obsessions

~ … the occasional ramblings of a book addict …

Wordly Obsessions

Tag Archives: cats cradle

Book Review | ‘Slaughterhouse 5’ by Kurt Vonnegut

18 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Book Review, Excerpts

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

2br02b, Billy Pilgrim, Bombing of Dresden in World War II, book review, cats cradle, Dresden, Hiroshima, Kilgore Trout, kurt vonnegut, science fiction, war, world war 2, World War II


Slaughterhouse 5: Or, the Children's Crusade, A Duty-Dance with DeathSlaughterhouse 5: Or, the Children’s Crusade, A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“It is so short and jumbled and jangled, Sam, because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds. And what do the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like “Poo-tee-weet?”

People keep saying that this is the story of Billy Pilgrim; World War II veteran, optometrist and time-traveller. I wish they wouldn’t do that, because that is not true.

This book is about TRYING to write about the unspeakable horrors of war (in this case, the Dresden bombing) and discovering that you simply cannot. It is about how when a mind is trying to draw on suppressed terrors, will constantly be diverted to other more manageable things like stupid insignificant moments of life.

‘Slaughterhouse 5’ is a story about failing to write about Dresden. Anyone knows that in order to write about something, one must first make sense of it. Yet the problem with wars is that almost all of them are pretty senseless. It is a proven fact that after a certain point, nobody really knows what is going on anymore. Vonnegut underlines this, and points out how this is true of every other bombing in world history including Hiroshima. ‘Slaughterhouse 5’ is about the madness of men, the wars they create and how those touched by it eventually turn to that madness for comfort. As Vonnegut put it, there are no actual characters in the story. Fine, we have Pilgrim and his comrades Roland Weary, Paul Lazzaro and poor Edgar Derby; a school teacher who is eventually executed for stealing a teapot. There’s also porn-actress Montana Wildhack and the reclusive science-fiction writer Kilgore Trout.

But, there are no characters. Because the only star of the show should be the EVENT; whose gaping absence (in this case) could also be a presence of such. Because a writer’s only chance of getting near such an event is to talk around it, through populating it. Which is why we have Billy Pilgrim and characters who are not actually meant to be there, but have to be, because (ironically) their presence provides the closest, most comfortable focal point for our eyes to rest on. Any closer, and it might all be a bit too much.

“Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.
    So she was turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes.
People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.
I’ve finished my war book now. The next one I write is going to be fun.

This one’s a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt.”

Time is a flexible thing in Vonnegut’s world; one can be dying one minute and be born the next, only to die again. Vonnegut shows us the big events in life. The ones that jar our conscience and even our sanity. But what about the little bombs that are peppered along the path of life? Every laughable, silly character in this book is a ticking bomb in their own right who trigger other bombs. It is how all these events play out that make ‘Slaughterhouse 5’ such an enjoyable and deeply resonant book.

If you’re looking for a read that explores BIG themes, like birth, sex, death, war, humanity and the meaning of life then don’t bother reading this. You will be disappointed. However, if you are looking for a short, concise novella who right from the start understands the futility of such an undertaking and humbly admits as much, then this is for you. And who knows? I mean, you might actually arrive at a better understanding of those big themes through this scrawny little book. Like I did. And start to pay a little more attention to bird-song. Especially ones that go ‘Poo-tee-weet?’

Because when put into perspective, birdsong makes more sense than the bloodlust of humanity. Or so it goes.

For other great Vonnegut books check out my reviews of ‘2BR02B’ and ‘Cat’s Cradle’.

View all my reviews

Related articles
  • Book review | Kurt Vonnegut’s letters leave a legacy of ‘depth, warmth and wit’ (kansascity.com)
  • ‘I Numb My Intellect with Scotch and Water’: Kurt Vonnegut’s Daily Routine (theatlantic.com)
  • Why is George Jean Nathan the only person in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five whose death does not merit a “So it goes”? (ask.metafilter.com)
  • God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut (neatorama.com)

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Mailbox Monday & It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? (25/ 7)

25 Monday Jul 2011

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Book News, Meme

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

benjamin zephaniah, carlos ruiz zafon, cats cradle, charlotte perkins gilman, civil war, emila zola, herman hesse, ian fleming, irvine welsh, Its monday what are you reading?, jm barrie, kurt busiek, kurt vonnegut, margaret atwood, mark millar, marvels, matt moylan, meme, mohsin hamid, patricia melo, Paul Auster, Paul Gallico, paul jenkins, peter pan, raymond carver, roberto bolano, siddhartha, stephen galloway, streetfighter world warrior encyclopedia, the angel's game, the cellist of sarajevo, the dream, the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society, the skating rink, the spy who loved me, the year of the flood, the yellow wallpaper, trainspotting, violette leduc, wolverine origins


It's Monday! What are you reading this week?

Welcome to Monday Meme’s! (‘Mailbox Monday’ by Marcia at The Printed Page and ‘It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?’ by Sheila at The Book Journey are fun weekly meme’s that allow book-bloggers to share their reading progress and the books they have yet to read.

July has been a hectic month, but also fruitful in terms of books. Since I haven’t had time to post that often (due to my novel-writing) I’m taking this opportunity to pick up from where I left off in March. Here’s a review of the titles that have either wowed me, or left me a little disappointed:

Books Read | March/ April
(click for reviews)
Lost World by Patricia Melo (1/5)
Man in the Dark by Paul Auster (5/5)
Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolano (4/5) – review pending
Kung Fu Trip by Benjamin Zephaniah (3/5)
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico (5/5)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (3/5) – review pending
The Informers by Brett Easton Ellis (3/5) – review pending
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (1/5) – review pending
The Paper House: A Novel by Carlos Maria Dominguez (4/5) – review pending

Books Read | May/ June
(click for reviews)
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (4/5) – review pending
2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut (5/5)
The Lady and the Little Fox Fur by Violette LeDuc (1/5)
Peter Pan by JM Barrie (5/5)
The Yellow Wall-paper and Other Stories by Charlotte Gilman (4/5)
Beginners by Raymond Carver (5/5)
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (4/5)
The Dream by Emile Zola (5/5) – review pending
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway (5/5)

 Other reviews:
The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (4.5/5)

Books Read | July
Streetfighter: World Warrior Encyclopedia by Matt Moylan (4/5)
Marvels by Kurt Busiek (5/5)
Wolverine: Origins by Paul Jenkins (3/5)
Civil War by Mark Millar (3/5)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (5/5)

Currently Reading/ August Outlook

The Skating Rink TrainspottingThe Spy Who Loved Me (James Bond)The Year of the Flood

What a pick-n-mix! As someone who never just reads one book at a time, I’ve started off first with Bolano’s “The Skating Rink”, which is a strange mix of romance, political scamming, figure-skating and cold-blooded murder. This is my second Bolano book (gearing myself up for ‘2666’) and the story seems to be chugging along quite well, despite the weird elements he’s thrown together to make it. Meanwhile I’m also poking around in “Trainspotting”, which unbeknownst to me is written in a very thick Scottish accent! I’m slowly getting used to it (fitba = football, hame = home, jaykits = jackets). It would be useful to have a glossary, but on second thought might spoil all the fun. After all, the best thing about ‘The Clockwork Orange’ was the strange Russian street lingo.

The one I can’t let go of at the moment is “The Spy Who Loved Me”. It is quite cheesy (as most Fleming books are) and it does feel a lot like one of those guilty comfort reads. The Bond of the movies and the Bond of the novels are so very different! However if there is one book I class as top-grade reading material, it is the Atwood. I practically have to ration her out for fear of guzzling through her entire works. She is so AMAZING! “The Year of the Flood” is the second in the MaddAddam trilogy, the first being ‘Oryx and Crake’, and loosely follows on from it. I can’t wait to lose myself in the plot. Can’t imagine what Atwood has dreamed up for us dystopian fiction lovers. Oh bliss…

What are you planning to read this week?

Related articles
  • Review: Kurt Vonnegut: Letters by Kurt Vonnegut (edited and with an introduction by Dan Wakefield) (stephenormsby.wordpress.com)

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Book Review | ‘Cat’s Cradle’ by Kurt Vonnegut

12 Tuesday Jul 2011

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in 50 Books A Year, Book Review, Excerpts, Philosophy/ Religion

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

bokononism, cats cradle, dystopian, humour, kurt vonnegut, l ron hubbard, religion, science fiction, scientology


Cat's Cradle Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.”

So you thought Scientology was wacky? Then you obviously haven’t read ‘Cat’s Cradle’. Forget Hubbards’ many layered, ‘brownie point’ rank system to reach the exalted state of ‘Xenu’; you need

‘Bokononism’. It’s not only completely rubbish and written by a mad man, but also insanely fun to implement. OK, I know it’s not ‘real’, but I really enjoyed the little sing-song calypso psalms that pepper the story every now and then.

‘Cat’s Cradle’ is, when all’s said and done, dystopian fiction. It looks at the delicate balance of the ecosystem, and how one crazy idea in the head of a crazy and very capable person can in effect, completely destroy life as we know it. Written in the first person, the story involves a writer obsessed with the scientist Hoenikker, the supposed ‘father’ of the atomic bomb and his attempts at writing a thesis around the day the bomb went off. During his research he gets to meet Hoenikkers weird and defective offspring, not to mention his work colleagues who give him insight into the frightening genius of the man.

What is evident is that a) Hoenikker’s scientific intelligence was off the scale, but b) had severe emotional lacks which means that c) he approached his work with all the curiosity of a child, but none of the responsibility of an adult. This revelation sends huge shock waves through our researcher, especially when he realises that the last project the good doctor was working on, was ‘Ice 9’; a sliver of which has the capacity to turn every water particle into ice. Some killing machine right? And where did the idea come from? A random crazy general from the American War Department who is constantly complaining how the Marines are fed up of working in all that mud all the time.

But the doctor died before it was ever realised, so we can breathe a sigh of relief, right? Right? No, we can’t. The nightmare scenario begins to unfold, as our poor researcher boards an airplane for the island of San Lorenzo which consequently will also be the very place where this strangest of Armageddon’s take place.

Dystopian fiction is usually quite depressing and grey, but Vonnegut changes all that. ‘Cat’s Cradle’ is in essence about a very upsetting scenario which despite all the light-hearted humour, still seems like it COULD happen in reality. But it is the humour that saves it from being just another ‘Brave New World’. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but makes very accurate observations about society and the ludicrous things we use science for. Vonnegut doesn’t beat you over the head with his message about weapons of mass destruction, but leaves a margin of seriousness within all the silliness for you to chew on.

This is an intellectual novel that is very easy to get into that also resonates deeply with current issues of climate change, war and destruction. Read this. You won’t regret it.

View all my reviews

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